[GrammarNazi]

IMO Honda Amaze and Dzire won't affect each others sales for the next 3-4months atleast. When Amaze was launched, it had the kind of specs people dreamt of. That's what we need, great products at good prices.

Chevy Sail claim 10,000 'bookings', no clue when those will turn into 'sales'. Waiting for the launch of 'Enjoy' MPV - shock pricing could bite into Ertiga sales.

Safari + Storme at just 762 units is crazy low whereas Duster gets almost 7 times that (5362) even at those interiors!

Hope car companies stick to their senses and keep petrol car prices reasonable, else this slump is here to stay.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

...Not sure how they calculated the 10k / mo production number, but there could be other variables affecting it. Also note that these numbers aren't actually "sales" figures, but more like production numbers / number of cars rolling out of the factory.

cya
R

So these figures include the stock that the company pushes to the dealer..? No wonder Innova figures have dropped so low.

[dtox]

Chevrolet is now almost double of its other great American rival, Ford !
Ford is just riding on Figo on the moment. They have to get EcoSport's pricing absolutely right or otherwise, the game will be lost before it even started.

Sail Sedan seems to be slowly picking up momentum and is not thwarted by Amaze's arrival. Its twin ,Sail U-VA is still slow off the blocks but doing better numbers than Pulse and Micra.

XUV 500's aura has slipped and how. Glad to see how the market has responded to Quanto.

Biggest shocker is Innova. Was there any issue with production? It's such a steep drop.

About TML, the lesser said, the better. They need a new product and platform. Period.
Mr Karl Slym has his work cut out.

Hyundai is rock solid. Glad to see i20 and Verna flying off the charts.
i10 is a cause of concern for them but with their diesel plans, it could turn out to be a game-changer for them.

Vento/Rapid combo is struggling to match with Verna inspite of being competent products. VW has its game cut out for India. Sad that there are no new products in their pipeline as well. Laura is finally having a ball at the expense of Cruze and Fluence, possibly since Elantra/Jetta/Corolla seem to be doing well.

Maruti- Take a bow. Dzire is really the King car on Indian roads. Not even its sibling, Swift can match the Dzire.
Ertiga- there's a slight drop. Chevrolet Enjoy has already started despatches- Finally, Ertiga has a worthy competitor and if Chevy can price it right, it could well be their biggest game-changer in India

[swarnava.m]

Originally Posted by parrys

GTO is away for the official review of what might just be the launch of the year

Ahh!! So the Ecosport review will be upon us soon!! I'd be lying if I said that I haven't been looking forward to this one.

As for those who are looking at Amaze's early success (perceptive), I would say that wait and watch how it pans out over a longer period of time. The feedback about the staff's attitude at a few dealerships has been pretty disappointing to say the least, and it will surely have its effect on the numbers soon. Inspite of all its weaknesses compared to Amaze, Dzire will continue to sell.

[rajneeesh]

The Dzire keeps on "Amazing" us all month after month. Who would have expected a sedan , ok a compack sedan to be a couple of 100 nos short of the top selling car in the country. Is it MSIL in overdrive stocking up to take on the Amaze? What are the delivery periods quoted by the dealers on the Dzire.

I20 is slowly losing steam. I expect the Amaze to pull some prospective I20 customers.

The dream run is over for the XUV 500. The Budget seems to have given it a real blow with the 3% additional excise.

Ford needs to launch the EcoSport double quick and at an attractive price. The Figo is losing steam fast.

[sridhar24]

I am not surprised to see Amaze doing good numbers in its first month, but i thought it would list in the top 10 actually. Its going to happen in the next sales report for sure.
Looks like people are still smitten by the Dzire, its amazing to see its sales numbers consistent month after month.
The additional excise burden of about Rs 25,000 from out great government and also rising diesel prices has killed the sales numbers of the XUV500 for sure with price increase.

[tbppjpr]

Though the Amaze has eaten numbers from Honda's own sales, it exhibits another interesting fact that the 4150 Amazes were diesel versions compared to 702 petrol versions So looks like the diesel engine is attracting buyers towards Honda.

Usually petrol version of the Polo is sold in decent numbers compared to diesel version but this year petrol sells has beaten the diesel version in sales numbers. I see it as effect of regular increase in diesel price, hints of petrol getting cheaper and some effect of TSI version delivered to dealers. I think the petrol Polo sales numbers will improve further with the introduction of new TSI DSG version.

Decent sales numbers of petrol versions of Polo and i20 also show that the these cars are seen as premium hatchback cars in India.

[Coolman]

Highlights and Analysis

Highs:

• ~4900 units of Amaze sales.
• ~700 units of Enjoy dispatched.
• Surprise +ve sales for Santro.
• Polo Petrol outsells Diesel counterpart.

Lows:

• Big loss this month for Innova, Alto.
• XUV 500, Beat, Figo, Accent, Nano on a constant decline.

Analysis:

April, generally is an average month, as a considerable portion of sales is brought forward to the month of March to avail depreciation benefits & protection from the changes in budget. The total market size was between 2,30,000 – 2,43,000 units in the Jan – Mar 2013 period, April saw a considerable drop to 1,99,000 units only. Last year in April, a Team-BHP prediction had turned true when UVs (SUVs & MUVs combined) sales overtook sedans. An year later, though UVs outsell sedans the gap has reduced from 6-8% to 2-3%, thanks to the reinforcement in the sedan segment in the form of new launches - Sail, Amaze, face-lifted Etios, and better sales of Dzire. The dip in sales of Innova and XUV 500 also contribute to the narrowing of the gap.

For Maruti, last April's new number 1 - the Swift slides to 3 and the eternal number 1 - the Alto no longer enjoys a safe position, with big brother Dzire close on heels. An year now, still no one in the market seems to want the A-Star, Estilo, Grand Vitara or Kizashi, except for Maruti. On more mention of Maruti for the Ritz, which has been clocking between 4000 - 6000 units every month for the last 1.5 years.

The Hyundai i20 is the leader (in terms of units), where the petrol variant sales compete with the diesel variants, followed by the Polo and Etios which also maintain a healthy split between petrol and diesel variants. In terms of % though, Polo comes first. Nothing major changes for Hyundai which is doing good at number 2.

If last April was a completely forgettable month for Tata, April 2013, at half the sales is even worse. Nano sales at 3 digits, is a poor show with its steady decline month after month.

For Mahindra, the outdated Bolero stands strong. XUV 500 on a constant decline. What the Verito boot-cut (the Vibe?), whose launch might be just around the corner, will do is to be seen.

Toyota Innova which otherwise maintained a healthy 5000-6000 units every month in the last 1.5 years, stoops to a low of 3000+ units, a good 2000+ units already sold last month (last month sales stood @ ~8500 units). With a 55% sales drop from last month, Toyota loses its momentarily gained 4th position to Tata.

Though not a big achievement from its otherwise 7K mark, Chevy crosses 8K for the second time in the last 12 months. Sail Sedan clearly outselling Sail U-VA hatchback and with reason.

Ford Fiesta continues its poor run for the last 1.5 years, bettering the other failed sedan, the Fiat Linea by 4 units this month!

An year after losing direction, Honda seems to be getting back on course for a revival with Amaze steering sales to cross 8K units barring March 2013.

For Volkswagen, the Polo Petrol outsells the Diesel counterpart.

Nissan continues its descent.

Fabia on a constant decline. Nothing much for Skoda.

Last year, at the back of the pack were Fiat, Renault & HM-Mitsubishi. Not much changed here, except that Renault decided to elevate itself higher up, thanks to Duster.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by parrys

The Fuel Story – April ‘13

Interesting split there, especially for some of the VAG group cars:

• Just one Laura TSI sold in the country! Adding and AT variant has created no impact there.
• Decent numbers for the Superb – probably the best in the segment.
• Polo is the only car in the list with better figures for the Petrol variant. Now with the launch of the 1.2 TSI DSG, it will be interesting to see how these numbers evolve in the coming months.

[wanderlustindia]

The recent cuts in petrol prices does not seem to have any significant impact on the petrol versions unless I'm not reading the reports correct. Diesels still far outnumber petrols by a fair margin. Wonder if that could become a factor going forward! (assuming that crude oil prices remain at the current level or fall further and the rupee remains in good stead vis-a-vis the dollar). Perhaps, the next 2-3 months could unravel this aspect.

BTW, when is Ford launching the Ecosport. That is their only saving grace now (hopefully!). The New Fiesta is dead doing around the 100 mark in the last 3 months. Perhaps the hatch with a more sane pricing is the answer to Ford's woes alongside the Ecosport.

[lapis_lazuli]

Not that I understand too much of the market dynamics, but haven't the newspapers (and economists) been cribbing about record low car sales (in the past 10 year period or so)? Somewhere its got to fit in, and here is how...!

Many new entrants seem to have done well with only the initial momentum of customer excitement or not too good at all. Ertiga, XUV, SAIL...Now these are substantial investments in R&D, and for the companies to recover the cost, we can only hope cost cutting measures do not affect the ownership experience.

Talking of FIAT : Not all companies are like FIAT, where the "bread and butter" is the root and not the fruit! Hence we have to report it has outshone HM in terms of sales, after 6 months! But, even FIAT cafe's are investments, and if there is no ROI, there are bound to be more post counts on TBHP expressing displeasure on ASS, exclusive FIAT showrooms or whatever. Ex-pat CEOs don't come cheap either.

I don't hear of many good experiences from dedicated FIAT joints....or do I? Correct me if I am wrong. I sincerely hope I am!

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by swarnava.m

The feedback about the staff's attitude at a few dealerships has been pretty disappointing to say the least, and it will surely have its effect on the numbers soon.

+1 to that.
Not just about the Amaze,Even for other Honda cars (as is they are selling anything else). I was at Dakshin Honda, looking for the City Auto, and boy what attitude, the sales guys just did not have time to attend to any new customers. The frenzy was like at a fast food joint. No sales guy was ready for a TD, it seemed as if the Amaze was being bought off the shelf like a commodity! I guess the foot fall has gone into their heads. I can clearly feel the difference between the last time I was at the Honda showroom in 2009 looking for the City and the dealer made sure that I was out of the showroom only after I was "sold" on the City.
I only hope Honda's character does not change after entering the volume business.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Safari + Storme at just 762 units is crazy low ......

Exactly what I was wondering. In spite of positive reviews, the numbers are painting a completely different story!

Just goes to show, how apprehensive people are when it comes to buying a TATA (other than Indicab of course!). Like Tsk mentioned in another thread, offer a lakh/5 year warranty - to show you are confident of your product before asking a customer to bet a million bucks on it.

[saion666]

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

The recent cuts in petrol prices does not seem to have any significant impact on the petrol versions

We may see that effect in the May sales figures.

Seems like Dzire is hard to dethrone and am not amazed too by that. Amaze didnt even ruffle any feather of the quirky ended Maruti.

XUV seems to be on a declining slope,with numbers slowly inching south.
I wonder why the Brio is losing numbers when petrol only i10 is doing quite well. Probably its time to introduce diesel power in that glass house.

Toyota seems to be losing the path.Time to do something radical for them.With the petrol prices already high and diesel too on the rise maybe bringing some hybrids at a 'decent price' could change Toyota's fortune.

[MaxTorque]

Thanks for the awesome and very informative report and charts. Few observations-

-Unable to understand what is the reason behind Toyota's bread winner Innova's low sales? -Also Maruti Suzuki Ertiga demand finally started to see some fall.
-I think the 10 days of tool down strike has impacted Mahindra's sales performance.
-Except Scoprio other Mahindra products are not creating much interest among buyers? not a good sign for sure.

[rockporiom]

I have a question. If from team bhp MVenkat and I bought Kizashi on March 18 then why is it showing 0 sales in March' 13